Various types of exercise machines for strengthening and conditioning the body are known. One type of exercise machine, referred to herein as a multi-station gym, combines different exercise stations into one machine. These different exercise stations are designed to provide a variety of different exercises. In most prior multi-station gyms, the exercise stations are linked with cables to one form of resistance, typically a weight stack.
There are a number of drawbacks with conventional multi-station gyms. First, having numerous exercise stations linked to one resistance load will increase the length of cable between the exercise station and the load. Excessive cable length will take away the smoothness of some exercise movements because of cable stretching. By way of example, a chest press station that has excessive cable linking it to the resistance load will have a “bouncy and jerky” feel. Limiting the cable portion used during exercise movements would enhance the performance and smoothness and increase the safety of the user by decreasing cable stretch.
Second, the high pulley station on existing multi-station gyms typically have one pulley located in a fixed position over the user's head. Thus the user only has one up and down path of movement when performing pull down exercises. Some multi-station gyms have tried to address this limitation by putting two pulleys that swivel over the user's head. However, the two swiveling pulleys remain in a fixed position and still leave the user with limited paths of movement. Also, having extension arms which are pivotally attached near the top of a main support frame of a multi-station gym would create a lot of stress on the frame because of the added leverage when pulling on the extended arms. It would be desirable to have a multi-station gym that had two swiveling high pulleys that were adjustable in width that could be safely supported on a low cost main support frame that would not tilt during exercise. This would allow an increased variety of wide and narrow pull down exercises, therefore increasing muscle use.
Third, the exercise arms on existing multi-station gyms typically follow a fixed path. This only gives the user one choice of motion and limits the movements that can be performed. Some multi-station gyms have tried to address this limitation by making exercise arms that have secondary arms that are linked with one or more axes of rotation which allow the user to determine their own travel path while in the exercise motion. This gives the user more paths of motion; however, this type of movement is difficult for non-advanced users and seniors. Having exercise arms wherein several travel paths could be pre selected before use would be desirable and achievable for all users.
Fourth, on existing multi-station gyms, proper bottom seating and back pad support is not attainable for all exercise stations. For example, proper pad location for a chest press may put the user in an awkward position for shoulder press exercises. Some existing multi-station gyms have tried to address this problem by making the back pad pivotally adjustable to lean forward for shoulder press exercises; however, the bottom seat remains fixed, thus leaving the user's body in a “pinched” position. Thus, there is a need for a seat assembly that will support the user in a correct position for all exercise movements.
Fifth, the hold down rollers on existing multi-station gyms are typically located below, behind, or to the outsides of the back support pad. If the hold down rollers were in front of the back pad, they would get in the way on almost all other exercises. The hold down rollers are used to keep the user down in the seated position while doing pull down exercises using the high pulley. During exercise, the user faces towards the back pad, puts their legs underneath the hold down rollers, and pulls down on a bar or handle from the high pulley. On single station pull down machines there are no back pads, therefore the hold down rollers are typically closer together and closer to the user wherein the rollers are positioned above the users upper thighs. This allows the user to focus more on exercising the back and arm muscles rather than expend energy on trying to stay in the seated position. On multi-station gyms, because the hold down rollers have to share a location with a back pad, the user is forced to spread their legs wide to the outsides of the back pad to utilize the hold down rollers. Also, the closer the user wants the rollers towards their upper thighs, the further they have to slide towards the back pad and are forced to spread their legs even wider. Also, because the hold down rollers are behind or adjacent to the back pad, the hold down rollers will contact the user's tops of the lower thighs in order for the user to be properly lined up with the high pulley to do pull down exercises. This makes it difficult to stay in the seated position and is an uncomfortable position for doing high pull down exercises. Therefore, there is a need for a multi-station gym to have hold down rollers that can be positioned in front of the back pad during use and positioned out of the way of other exercises when not in use.
Sixth, very few existing multi-station gyms have two swiveling low pulleys positioned wherein a user could do seated bicep curls. Pad support is not available for the few that do. Having stationary pad support for seated bicep curls would interfere with other exercise movements such as chest presses, wherein the user's arms and elbows would break the plane of the bicep curl pads during use. Having arm and elbow support while doing bicep curls would allow the user to concentrate on the bicep muscles. It would be desirable to have a multi-station gym with two swiveling low pulleys wherein arm support pads could be positioned in the proper location while performing seated bicep curls, then repositioned to be stored out of the way of other exercise movements.
Also, the resistance load for a multi-station gym is typically a weight stack. The weight stack is usually adjustable in ten pound increments. For some stations, ten pound increments are too much of an increase in weight to notice short term improvements in strength. To address this problem, there are numerous types of incremental weights for weight stacks, however there are many drawbacks to them. First, most incremental weights are attached to one side of the weight stack wherein this will alter the balance and cause increased friction when in use. Second, some incremental weights follow a separate track during use wherein this will cause increased friction as well. Also, most incremental weights are attached to the frame of the exercise machine before being transferred or linked to the weight stack for use. The weight stacks on most multi-station gyms are positioned away from the framework and enclosed by weight stack shrouds. Building extra framework to be near a weight stack would be costly. This is why incremental weights are often a feature of single station gyms, which typically have a cage frame on two sides of the weight stack, but seldom a feature of multi-station gyms. Having incremental weights with a low cost attachment means that can be loaded with proper balance and that do not follow a separate track wherein friction would be minimized would be desirable.
Multi-station gyms are cost efficient to manufacture and space efficient because numerous stations can share the same framework and the same resistance load. Thus, there is a need for a multi-station gym that provides smooth exercise movements by minimizing cable stretch, increased adjustability by providing width adjustable high pulleys for pull downs and path adjustable exercise arms for pressing and pulling, proper back and bottom seating positioning on all exercise movements, hold down rollers that can be used in front of the back seat then stored out of the way when not in use, bicep curl arm pads that can be used on the outsides of the back seat then stored out of the way when not in use, and a low cost, properly balanced, and low friction incremental weight system.